The British-based NEC group, which runs Birmingham's National Exhibition and International Conference centres, is to manage Ireland's planned National Conference Centre in a joint venture with Treasury Holdings, The Irish Times has learned. The Treasury Holdings consortium's tender to develop the centre in Dublin's Docklands is due to be formally sanctioned by the Government next week. It has already applied for planning permission to begin work on the CIE-owned site in a bid to open the centre in 2000.

NEC will act as consultants to Treasury Holdings during the construction phase and will take up the day-to-day management and international marketing of the centre when it opens. A spokesman for Treasury Holdings said NEC's involvement had formed part of its original tender for the centre. It has a wealth of experience in managing major international conferences and events. This year it hosted the G8 Summit and the Eurovision Song Contest at its centre in Birmingham.

It is currently preparing to open a £70 million extension to the exhibition centre, expanding its total area to 190,000 sq m. The expansion will allow the NEC to increase the number of shows it handles from 180 to 200 by the year 2000.

Treasury Holding's tender for the contract has already been favourably reviewed by Government-appointed economic consultants and, once approved by the Cabinet, must be sanctioned by the EU Commission.

The project is expected to qualify for £29.4 million in EU funding. However, to draw down the money, construction work must be substantially completed before the end of 2000.

The centre is to be built on a site facing the river Liffey at North Wall Quay and Spencer Dock, the site is now part of CIE's rail freight marshalling yards.